Cells at Work: Day to Day
by Pidgeapodge
Summary: A compilation of various Cells at Work one-shots I come up with. They are mostly unrelated to each other, but now and then what happens in one may affect what happens in another.
1. An Over-Eager Eosinophil

**An Over-Eager Eosinophil**

"Hachiro-chan, slow down!" Eosinophil called to the myelocyte.

Hachiro, leaning on her training spear, panted from her exertions. She was still so young, her baggy pink T-shirt almost reached down to her knees, making it almost look more like a dress than a shirt. Her brown pigtails stuck out from under her cap, and her face was shiny with sweat.

"Don't worry, Senpai, I can do even better!" she said between breaths.

Eosinophil huffed. She had been the eosinophilic myelocyte's senpai for some time now. She loved EO-8601, affectionately nicknamed "Hachiro" from the pronunciation of the first two numbers, like a baby sister. She wanted to help Hachiro in any way she could.

Unfortunately, Hachiro seemed to have the exact opposite problems that Eosinophil herself had as a myelocyte. When Eosinophil was younger, she was often scared by the bacteria puppets her sensei would use. She often felt weak because she couldn't easily phagocytose bacteria.

_**Phagocytosis: **The process by which white blood cells destroy germs such as bacteria, by engulfing and digesting them. Made up of "phago" (eat, devour), "cyte" (cell), and "-osis" (the process of)._

Sometimes, other cells would bully her, be it her fellow myelocytes, or ordinary cells throughout the body. She was lucky she had a group of close friends who stood up for her through it all. Even now, she still struggled with self-esteem issues, though she was getting better.

Hachiro, however, had no such problems with self-doubt. In fact, she was all too eager to attack anything and everything, sometimes even injuring her teachers.

It had gotten to the point where U-1110, Eosinophil's own former teacher, asked her to help Hachiro. It warmed Eosinphil's mitochondria that he saw her as a competent mentor for a myelocyte, that he thought she had grown enough since then. Unfortunately, Hachiro was proving to be quite the handful.

"Hachiro-chan," said Eosinophil, trying to keep her voice even, "why do you attack everything so hard?"

"Because I've gotta be the very best!" Hachiro answered, still panting.

Eosinophil shook her head. "Being the best doesn't mean just attacking everything in your range of vision. It means knowing which battles to fight, and giving it your all. You can't just lash out like this. Is something wrong?"

Eosinophil looked at her little kouhai, who avoided meeting her gaze.

"Hachiro-chan…" Eosinophil said again.

"I just… -_sniff!_\- I just wanna be able to fight all the germs." Tears streamed down Hachiro's face as she struggled to hold back her sobs. "Everyone says Eosinophils are weak and I'm the only one in my class and I just wanna be awesome like you and show them they're wrong and--" Hachiro's words became unintelligible as she started crying in earnest.

"Oh, Hachiro-chan! Come here!" Eosinophil knelt down and held her arms wide. Hachiro ran forward into Eosinophil's arms and cried onto her shoulder as Eosinophil hugged her tight.

"It's okay, Hachiro-chan. Don't listen to the bullies one bit. I remember they used to say that about me."

_Sometimes they still do, _Eosinophil thought to herself.

"But you know what?" she continued. "When a parasitic worm invaded the stomach lining, I was the only one who was able to take it down. That's what we're made for."

Hachiro continued to sob and hiccup. "But… but it's so hard to complete the bacteria training and everyone makes fun of me and I don't like it!"

Eosinophil shifted so that she was sitting down in a cross-legged position, with Hachiro in her lap. She continued to gently rub the back of Hachiro's head.

"That's because Eosinophils aren't meant to fight bacteria. We're meant to fight parasites. Just like neutrophils can't fight parasites, because they're meant to fight bacteria. We protect the body and each other from all kinds of threats. Neutrophils and Eosinophils are a team."

Hachiro nodded, still hiccupping, her tears leaving small dark spots on Eosinophil's uniform. "I still wanna be able to fight the bacteria, though."

"You know why I want you to slow down? To calmly think about which battles you pick?" Eosinophil asked.

Hachiro looked up at Eosinophil with listening eyes and shook her head "no."

"Because Eosinophils are much more powerful than you think. We have to be careful. If too many of us gather in one area or we are too reckless, we can cause inflammation. If we're really not careful, we can cause the body to have an asthma attack, or an allergic reaction. That's why there's so few of us, so that we don't cause an accident," Eosinophil explained.

_**Eosinophilic Asthma:** Asthma caused by inflammation of the lungs due to overactive/over concentrated eosinophils. Tends to appear in adulthood, and is not easily treated with conventional asthma treatments. The exact cause for eosinophilic asthma is still unknown._

"Really?" Hachiro asked.

"Really."

_I wish I had someone to tell me this when I was her age._

"So the most important thing isn't to fight harder, but to fight smarter. You have to slow down and really thing about the best way to defeat a parasite. You don't want to waste all your energy on an attack that doesn't work, or worse, hurt any cells nearby."

Hachiro looked down at the ground. "No…"

Eosinophil gently hugged the little girl. "Don't worry, we'll work on it together. You'll get it. It takes lots of practice."

Eosinophil didn't hear a reply, but she could feel Hachiro nod while hugging back.

"Let's go get a quick snack, practice just a little more, then we can be done for the day. Okay?" She moved to look Hachiro in the eye.

Hachiro looked at the ground, still seemingly uncomfortable. "Okay…"

"It _will_ be okay, Hachiro-chan. I promise. With your determination and lots of practice, I think you'll be even better than me!"

Hachiro gasped. "Really?!"

"Definitely."

Hachiro leapt into another big hug. "Thanks, Senpai."

"You're very welcome," Eosinophil said with a smile. "Come on, let's go get a snack."


	2. Cellular Feats of Strength

**Cellular Feats of Strength**

"Absolutely no way. It's just not possible."

"Oh come on, we absolutely could! We carry oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nutrients all over the body! It's not impossible!"

It was a pleasant day in the body. No germs were attacking, nutrients were coming in, and everything seemed to be going well.

During their break, Red Blood Cell AE-3803 and her senpai, AA-5100 ran into White Blood Cell U-1146 and his three friends. The six cells began talking, and soon they found themselves in a fierce battle of beliefs.

It started because U-4989 accidentally knocked over the oxygen boxes on a cart. When he was reloading, he casually remarked that the boxes were heavy, and that he couldn't imagine carrying them around all day. From then it spiralled into an apparently controversial question: who was stronger, erythrocytes or neutrophils?

"Then why don't you help out when germs attack?" said U-2626.

"Because we have no training, no weapons, and a responsibility to focus on getting oxygen to where it needs to go," 5100 responded, pointing at 2626 with her glucose cone.

"Besides, if we had to carry the same equipment around as you guys, we wouldn't be able to deliver as much oxygen. It would just get in the way," 3803 pointed out.

U-1146 nodded. "Yes, that does make sense."

"Oh come on! Don't take their side!"

"I don't even see the point in arguing about this. We are different cells with different rolls. Both of our roles are necessary for the health of this world. Why bother arguing about who is stronger?"

"Because it's fun!" U-4989 responded.

U-2626 turned to the only member who had been silent so far. "U-2048, what do you think?"

U-2048 looked around at the group. "I mean, yes, erythrocytes carry those boxes around all day. But I mean, is it even really a question? Just looking at you guys physically, erythrocytes are smaller than neutrophils. Plus, you guys can only digest glucose, but neutrophils get nutrients from various sources, and we have mitochondria to turn it into energy much more efficiently. You guys don't have mitochondria."

AA-5100 crossed her arms. "Neutrophils also have nuclei, so you'd think you'd be smarter than this. The reason red blood cells don't have any mitochondria, or most other organelles, is to make room for lots and lots of hemoglobin. Which is for _carrying all that oxygen around!_"

U-2048 narrowed his eyes. "Alright, Miss Hemoglobin, you're on. Why waste any more time _talking_ about this, when we can test it right here, right now? Let's have a little competition, you and me."

AA flipped her hair with mock pompousness. "Oh-ho! I like what I'm hearing! how shall we compete?"

"Arm wrestling. It'll get right to the heart of the matter."

"Okay, okay, this is all well and good. Should we have a forfeit? After all that's been said, I'm not sure I'm satisfied with just being crowned the champion."

"Bold of you to assume you'll be the champion."

"Bold of you to assume I'm assuming. I _know_ I'll be the champion." AA tapped her chin. "Okay, how about this. When I win, you'll have to put one of your uniforms in the wash with the erythrocyte uniforms, then wear that uniform for a whole day. I think pink will be a very pretty color on you!"

"Ooo, you're evil. Okay. And when _I _win, you'll have to have Dendritic Cell take a picture of you holding a sign saying 'White Blood Cells are the Best Blood Cells."

"Deal." AA held out her hand, and 2048 shook it vigorously.

"Shall we sit down?" asked 2048, indicating a nearby table.

"Sure. I'm itching to start."

The two cells sat across from each other at the table and took off their right gloves. AA took off her jacket, and 2048 rolled up his sleeve. They placed their elbows on the table and clasped hands.

"Just making sure we're playing by the same rules, no lifting your elbow from the table, you must force the back of your opponent's hand to the table, no standing up or using two hands. Good?"

AA nodded. "Fine with me. Let's get this show on the road."

U-2048 looked to 1146. "Give us a countdown?"

U-1146 shrugged. "Sure. On your marks…"

U-2048 looked back at his opponent.

"Get set…"

Both cells leaned forward, tense to begin.

"Go!"

Both cells immediately started pushing against each other. At first, there was no visible change in their hand's positions. After a few seconds, though, AA's hand gave way just a tiny bit.

_No!_ she thought. Redoubling her efforts, she grit her teeth.

However, it was no use. Bit by bit, her hand went further and further down, until finally she could stand it no longer. Despite putting all of her energy into it, her knuckles rapped the table.

"Yes! I win!" shouted 2048.

A dark aura surrounded AA. "Are… you… KIDDING ME?!" With a rage-filled grunt, she kicked the table as hard as she could.

_SMASH!_

U-2048 stopped celebrating and stared in shock at the table they were just sitting at, which had flown across the room and shattered into pieces _just from AA's kick._ He suddenly felt clammy as he realized the implications of that. He had never seen _anyone _with such a powerful kick.

AA fixed him with a stony glare.

"Oh, right. We actually don't use our arm strength to lift the oxygen. We lift with our legs. It's healthier that way. That combined with spending all day, every day walking all over the body…" AE-3803 giggled, "…well, I guess it makes sense for erythrocytes to have better leg strength than arm strength!"

U-2048 gulped. "Um… you know what, let's just agree that each of us is best suited for our own roles, and there's no need to compete… just like 1146 said, heh heh…"

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_Remember to keep your back straight and lift with your legs when lifting heavy objects! This is a healthier way of lifting things that greatly reduces the risk of injuring your back, which is extremely painful! Your cells are looking out for you!_


	3. Pseudo-Sibling Squad Bonding

**Pseudo-Sibling Squad Bonding**

Eosinophil sat on the sofa in the karaoke room, nervously clenching her fists on her lap.

Her four best friends, U-1146, U-2626, U-2048, and U-4989, fiddled with the song menu on the screen.

Apparently, during the incident where the body got too drunk, the neutrophils visited the liver with some red blood cells, and one of the things they did was sing karaoke. Since then, they had revisited karaoke a few times, and now they wanted to do it together with her.

The room wasn't big, but it wasn't cramped either. A long sofa made an L-shape against the back and and side walls. From the back wall, where Eosinophil sat, the entrance was on the left-hand side, opposite half of the sofa. In front of the sofa was a low table with a large pitcher of water and several cups, as well as two microphones. The neutrophils crowded around a small screen on the wall with the song menu, while a larger screen on the wall would display the lyrics.

Eosinophil looked down at her knees. What was she doing here? She loved these neutrophils like big brothers, but did they really expect her to sing in front of them?

It wasn't just the idea of singing in front of them that made her nervous. What would they think of her song choices? Eosinophil liked to listen to music on her off-time, but she didn't know how the neutrophil squad would react.

"Ohh, this one looks good!" said 4989 as he selected a song.

"Yo, Eosinophil, you wanna choose any songs?" asked 2626.

Eosinophil shook her head. "No thanks."

"Don't be nervous, Eo-chan!" said 4989, looking over at her. "It's a lot of fun!"

Eosinophil tugged on the bill of her cap, trying to make herself smaller. "It's really okay."

"It'll be fine, I'll show you! Does anyone mind if I go first?" asked 4989.

"Go right ahead," responded 1146.

"Thanks. Ready, 2626?"

Both 4989 and 2626 grabbed microphones as the other two sat down. Were they going to sing together?

Both of the neutrophils blew into the microphones, testing to make sure they worked. When they were rewarded with amplified puffing sounds from the speakers, 4989 hit the "play" button on the screen.

Immediately, an upbeat and lively tune sounded from the speakers. It sounded like it might be from some kind of plucked instrument. Lyrics appeared on the screen, and they looked almost like Kanji, but… not. Some of the characters were recognizable Kanji, but other characters were not. They looked like they _could_ be Kanji, but they didn't look like any Kanji Eosinophil had ever seen. She recalled a bacterial invasion, where the bacteria spoke in a language she didn't understand. Antibiotics also speaking the same strange language came in capsules labelled with similar weird almost-Kanji. Eosinophil wasn't much help against the bacteria, but at least that time she wasn't the object of ridicule. Everyone was too busy protecting the lactic acid bacteria from antibiotics that were even more ineffective than she was against the invasive bacteria.

The intro to the song continued, and a series of four dots appeared on the screen, counting down to the start of the song. Both 4989 and 2626 pulled out papers from their pockets, unfolding and looking at them.

Three dots. Two. One…

4989 lifted the microphone to his lips and began to sing.

"_Wo zhong xia yi ke zhongzi,_

_Zhongyu zhang chule guoshi,_

_Jintian shi ge weida rizi."_

Eosinophil stifled a laugh. This sounded like the same language from that bacterial infection! But how was 4989 singing it?

Before she could think of an answer to the question, 2626 sang the next stanza.

"_Zhai xia xingxing songgei ni,_

_Zhuai xia yueliang songgei ni,_

_Rang taiyang meitian wei ni shengqi."_

Both neutrophils looked at the papers in their hands, rather than the almost-Kanji lyrics on the screen. U-4989 seemed more at home pronouncing the foreign words, while 2626 had a noticeable accent in comparison. The two sang the bridge together, before jumping into the chorus.

"_Ni shi wo de xiao ya xiao pingguor!_

_Zenme ai ni dou bu xian duo!_

_Honghong de xiao lianr wennuan wo de xin wor!_

_Dian liang wo shengming de huo! Huo! Huo! Huo! Huo! Huo!"_

Eosinophil laughed in earnest now. The neutrophils were singing loudly, doing silly dance moves, and generally being crazy and entertaining. From the almost-Kanji on the screen that she could recognize, they appeared to be singing about an apple? It didn't make sense, but that didn't matter. She just enjoyed the show.

Finally, the two finished their performance.

"_Ni shi wo de xiao ya xiao pingguor!_

_Jiu xiang tianbian zuimei de yunduo!_

_Chuntian you lai dao liao huar kai man shanpo,_

_Zhong xia xiwang jiu hui shouhuo!_

The music faded out, and Eosinophil, 1146, and 2048 doubled over laughing. U-4989 basked in the praise, while 2626 was unable to keep from laughing himself.

"What was that?" asked 2048, gasping for breath. "Doesn't that… doesn't that remind you of the salmonella invasion?"

"Actually, it's the language that the germs and antibiotics spoke!" 4989 said happily. "After that invasion, I wanted to learn what they were saying, in case something like that ever happened again… partially so I could yell taunts back at them as we fought, heh heh…" 4989 rubbed the back of his neck. "Somehow I ran across Basophil and mentioned this, and he just lent me a book for learning it. Apparently it's called 'Chinese.' A while later, I stumbled across this song while doing karaoke one time, and I thought it would be fun to sing!"

"Wait, why did Basophil have a book specifically for learning that language?" asked 2048.

"Don't question it," said U-1146 and Eosinophil at the same time. Since they were both Basophil's kouhais at one point, they knew better than anyone that Basophil had the strange and mysterious ability to obtain pretty much any book about any subject, no matter how obscure. In fact, the more obscure the subject was, the more likely Basophil was to have it.

"Alright, who's next?" asked 2626.

"I'll go," offered 2048. He got up, typed something into the screen, then took the microphone 4989 offered him.

The music started with a rhythmic drum intro. The title of the song scrolled across the top of the screen: _Uragiri no Yuuyake_, "Treacherous Sunset."

The first lyrics came on the screen, and Eosinophil was happy to see they were written in a language she understood. The set of four dots appeared to count down to the start. Three dots. Two. One…

"_Uragiri no yuuyake_

_Yakkai ni karamitsuku ase o_

_Kirisaku you ni shite_

_Mashin wa sakebu utau you ni"_

The melody instantly drew Eosinophil in, and the electric guitar in the music made her mitochondria thump with anticipation. Not even twenty seconds into the song, and she could tell it was going to be good.

"_Blow up louder!_

_Mukuchi na yousei wa soko ni iru._

_Blow up louder! _

_Tsugunai wa kudaketa ai no kakera!_

_A-ah!_

_Asahi wa noboru, yeah!_

_Biru no tanima! _

_Ima shinjireba kawaru no sa,_

_Murmi ja nai ano yumi o-oh!"_

The chorus exploded with intensity. It made Eosinophil feel like she was zooming down a street on a very fast vehicle, her pigtails whipping out behind her. This was a very different style of song than the one 4989 and 2626 sang, but it was enjoyable in its own right.

U-2048 certainly gave it his best. Even though his voice was higher-pitched, he still managed to give it a subtle sort of gravelly-quality sound that added to the experience, almost reminiscent of a vehicle without a muffler. It wasn't overbearing, and his normal voice was still recognizable, but it added yet another dimension to the song.

He sang on, the lyrics mentioning a "Fairyride" and talking about accelerating and breaking through dark clouds as the sun rises. Eosinophil wasn't the only one enjoying it. U-1146 tapped his foot, while 4989 nodded his head to the beat, eyes closed. U-2626 was also dancing in his seat.

Finally, like a roller coaster going through one last loop before stopping, the song came to an end.

"_A-ah!_

_Asahi wa noboru, yeah!_

_Suiheisen!_

_Ima shinjireba kawaru no sa,_

_muimi ja nai ano hikariiiii-yeeeah!"_

U-2048 let his arm holding the microphone drop to his side as the final notes of music played. The group of immune cells cheered his performance, and 4989 even let out a wolf whistle!

"Alright, 1146, you wanna go next?" asked 2048.

Next to Eosinophil, 1146 tugged on his cap. "Ah. Sure."

He looked a little nervous to Eosinophil. Was he nervous to sing? To Eosinophil, the words "nervous" and "U-1146" were as incompatible as oil and water, fire and ice, immune cells and germs.

U-1146 stood up and took the microphone from 2048. As 2048 sat down, he poured himself a cup of water from the pitcher on the low table in front of the sofa.

"Ah, that feels nice," he sighed after taking a sip. "My throat feels a bit scratchy right now."

U-1146 hit the play button for his song choice. Unlike the other songs, there was no intro music. The lyrics appeared on the screen and the four dots counted down in silence, as 1146 held the microphone at the ready. The title scrolling across the screen said _Lemon_.

The last dot disappeared, and 1146 began.

"_Yume naraba dore hodo yokatta deshou._

_Imada ni anata no koto wo yume ni miru."_

A piano accompaniment began as soon as 1146 started singing. The song was slower than the songs that the other neutrophils sang, but not super slow. Eosinophil's breath actually caught in her chest. U-1146's voice was deep and smooth, and he sounded like a natural while singing. She never heard him sing before, and his skill now impressed her.

U-1146 continued singing, steady and strong. The song seemed to be from a man to his significant other, describing how much better things are with her than they are alone. She thought of the redheaded erythrocyte she often saw around 1146, AE-3803. Was he thinking of AE while singing the song?

_That would be adorable! _she thought.

"_Ano hi no kanashimi sae,_

_Ano hi no kurushimi sae,_

_Sono subete wo aishiteta anata to tomo ni._

_Mune ni nokori hanarenai nigai lemon no nioi._

_Ame ga furiyamu made wa kaerenai _

_Ima demo anata wa watashi no hikari!"_

The chorus made Eosinophil swell with emotion. The lyrics basically said that through all the pain that he experienced, with his partner, he loved it all, the scent of lemon lingers on his chest, and that even in the rain, the one he loves is his light. It was so sweet, and 1146 sang with such conviction, that Eosinophil was sure he was thinking about AE-3803. U-1146 wasn't even looking at his friends, instead looking up off into the distance, his mind clearly on something else.

As the song went on, it seemed that the lyrics indicated that the lovers were not physically together and that they missed each other. More instruments made up the music backing 1146 now, but his voice was what held the four immune cells enrapt. As she heard the lyrics describing a deep longing to be with the loved one again, Eosinophil felt a tear come to her eye.

Finally, 1146 finished the song, singing:

"_Ano hi no kanashimi sae,_

_Ano hi no kurushimi sae,_

_Sono subete wo aishiteta anata to tomo ni._

_Mune ni nokori hanarenai nigai lemon no nioi._

_Ame ga furiyamu made wa kaerenai,_

_Kiriwaketa kajitsu no katahou no you ni,_

_Ima demo anata wa watashi no hikari!"_

The group clapped for their friend as he put down the microphone. Eosinophil wiped away the tear and looked around. Evidently, she was not the only one whose eyes did not stay dry. U-4989 looked to be on the verge of bawling.

"That was beautiful!" he said.

"Thanks." U-1146 bowed his head and looked over at Eosinophil. "Eosinophil, would you like to try?"

"M-me?" Eosinophil stuttered. Her mitochondria twisted. She wasn't prepared for this!

"Sure, it'll be fun!" said 2626.

"Come on, Eo-chan!" urged 4989.

"I'm curious to hear your voice," said 2048.

"No pressure, Eosinophil. If you don't want to sing, you don't have to," 1146 said kindly.

Eosinophil squirmed in her seat. Even though 1146 said "no pressure," she still felt very put on the spot. It did look like fun, and she did want to try… but what would her neutrophil friends say? Still, she couldn't live her entire life being shy and afraid to move outside of her comfort zone. She had already been making such good progress, so far…

"Okay, guys, she doesn't want to do it," said 1146. "Anyone else want to-"

"I'll do it!" Eosinophil said, standing up from her seat. The four neutrophils looked at her, surprised. Her mitochondria thumped in her chest, so loudly that she was sure they could all hear, and she wanted to shrink into a dot and disappear with all their eyes on her, but she stood firm. "I-I'll do it. I wanna try."

U-1146 smirked and handed her the microphone. "Have fun. I know you'll do great."

Eosinophil took the microphone from his hand, shaking a little. She approached the smaller screen with the song menu, and began scrolling through the songs. It was never confirmed, but a rumor stated that all the songs available in karaoke were songs that the body itself had listened to. If true, the body had a very broad taste in music, with many different genres being listed on the screen.

Eosinophil gulped as she selected a tab and looked through the songs. She found what she was looking for. Some time back, Basophil had given her a CD for her to listen to, saying she would particularly like the second song in the album. Confused, she put it in a CD player and listened to it. Immediately, she was hooked. It was a powerful, energy-pumping song, and even though she didn't understand the words at first, she loved it. Eventually, she got around to using an English-Japanese dictionary that Basophil lent her (because, of course Basophil would have such a thing) to understand the words. She knew the entire song by heart now.

Still, it was nerve-wracking for her to actually try and sing it out loud, in front of her friends! Her finger hovered over the screen, about to select the song, when she turned back to her friends.

"Um, please don't judge my song choice too hard," she asked in a small voice.

"Whatever you pick literally could not be any weirder than what 4989 and 2626 sang," 2048 pointed out.

Eosinophil gulped, nodded, and selected the song quickly. If she hesitated any longer, she might have backed out.

The music began to play. An intro from electric guitars set the feel of the music, punctuated with what sounded like chorus of men shouting as they heaved heavy objects. In English, the song's title scrolled past at the top of the screen: _Powersnake_.

When she had looked up the words, Eosinophil realized that the reason Basophil gave her the song to listen to was because it reminded him of her battles against parasites.

Eosinophil kept her eyes glued to the screen, not daring to look at her friends. The four dots counted down to the start.

Three dots.

Two.

One…

"_Deep beneath the surface _

_Lurks a mighty beast,_

_A reptile of the ocean,_

_A viper unleashed!_

_This creature is enormous, _

_With fangs as tall as trees, _

_The wretched spawn of Loki _

_That was banished to the seas!"_

Eosinophil felt her voice growing stronger and stronger the more she sang. Even though her friends were watching her, she felt confidence blossom in her chest. Even though she wasn't completely used to the English pronunciation, turning the "TH" sound into an "S" and mixing the "L" and "R" sounds so that "the wretched spawn of Loki" became "the letched spawn of Roki," she ignored it and continued to sing on. She wasn't looking, but her neutrophil friends were amazed that Eosinophil, ordinarily such a quiet girl, could have so much power in her voice. As the chorus came on the screen, all her anxieties melted away, and she sang with everything she had.

"_Powersnake!_

_You will fade under the shadow of the _

_Powersnake!_

_The wingless dragon_

_Storm-fiend!_

_Rival of the Thunder God,_

_Stronger than all!_

_POWERSNAKE!"_

Eosinophil sang the next verse, describing the awesome size of the legendary beast, and even listing its names. he neutrophils didn't understand, but they still felt the power in the music.

All too soon, she came to the final chorus.

"_Eyes_

_Glowing red in the dark on the ocean floor,_

_Mighty serpent _

_Roaring in the deep_

_He's a beast that devours all._

_And the serpent awakes!_

_Powersnake!_

_You will fade under the shadow of the _

_Powersnake!_

_The wingless dragon_

_Storm-fiend!_

_Rival of the Thunder God,_

_Stronger than all!_

_POWERSNAAAAAKE!"_

Eosinophil held the final note for as long as she could, and stopped as the music ended. She panted, slightly out of breath from that final note. She turned around slowly to look at her neutrophil friends.

They were looking back at her in awe, all four with their mouths open. Then, they all started to clap and cheer.

Eosinophil felt her face grow hot. "W-what?"

"Eosinophil, that was amazing!" said 1146.

"I had no idea you were that good at singing!" said 2626.

"Your voice is so good!" cried 4989.

Eosinophil gulped. She was worried that her friends would think it was weird that she picked the song that she did, or that her voice wouldn't be strong enough, or her accent too thick. This was the opposite of what she expected. However, as much as she didn't want to be teased by her friends, she really, _really_ had no idea how to cope with praise.

"Um, th-thank you, guys," she said, growing redder by the second.

"You really are a great singer, Eosinophil!" 1146 said.

"Seriously, Eo-chan, that was so awesome it made my mitochondria race!" said 4989.

Eosinophil rubbed the back of her head. "Oh, it's nothing Really, you don't have to say that…"

"That was a really great song choice, how'd you find it?" asked 2048.

"Um, Basophil gave me a CD with this song on it."

"I didn't expect Basophil to enjoy this kind of music," 2626 chimed in. "To be honest, I didn't expect it from you either, but that was awesome! You're a natural!"

Eosinophil tugged on the bill of her cap. "Guys, really, don't make such a fuss…"

"But we like making a fuss, Eo-chan!" said 4989. He got up off the couch an placed a hand on Eosinophil's head, adjusting her hat so that her eyes were visible. "You're like family to us, after all!"

"Guys…" Eosinophil felt her eyes brim with tears. "Stop, now I feel stupid!"

Immediately, 4989 wrapped her in a tight hug. "Nope! Our little sis doesn't get to feel stupid, because she's awesome! Right guys?"

Eosinophil felt three more pairs of arms wrap around herself and 4989 as the entire squad entered the group hug.

"Right," the other three echoed.

Eosinophil chuckled and freed an arm so that she could wipe the tears off her face. What did she ever do to deserve such good friends? Big brothers who looked out for her and cheered her up when she was down? She wrapped her free arm around 4989 and 1146, the closest neutrophils to that side.

"I love you guys," said Eosinophil.

"We love you too, Eo-chan."

"2626, get your hand away from there!" said 2048.

"Sorry!"

"Anyone else wanna sing anymore?" asked 1146.

The group hug dissolved, and Eosinophil sat back down on the couch, feeling as light as a feather. She wiped another tear off her face, smiling as 2626 went up to select a song of his own.

It was easier to not get wrapped up in her own anxieties with such good friends.

_I really love my family,_ she thought to herself with a smile.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_I wrote this after my story Destination: Intoxication, in which the body gets drunk and the erythrocytes sing karaoke. I thought it might be nice to have some more karaoke fun, so here you go!_

_My friend Mira Avis, another fanfic author here, actually prompted this story when she told me that _Powersnake_ reminds her of Eosinophil! Thanks for the inspiration, Mira!_

_Please enjoy!_

_I got the Japanese Romanizations from Anime Lyrics dot com._

_Songs are (in order of appearance):_

小苹果 (Xiǎopíngguǒ, "Little Apple") _by_ 筷子兄弟 (The Chopstick Brothers)

裏切りの夕焼け (Uragiri no Yuuyake, "Treacherous Sunset") _by_ THEATRE BROOK

Lemon _by_ Kenshi Yonezu

Powersnake _by_ Brothers of Metal


End file.
